Citizens’ movement and COVID-19 in Senegal: textual analysis of songs concerning COVID-19 by Y’en a marre and other Senegalese musicians.

Abstract

Y’en a marre is a social movement that emerged in Senegal in 2011 in reaction to widespread social injustices, corruption, and the inefficacy of President Abdoulaye Wade’s administration. Founded by rappers Thiat and Kilifeu together with journalist Cheikh Fadel Barro, the movement initially responded to recurring power outages in Dakar caused by state mismanagement of the energy sector. It rapidly gained momentum, mobilizing youth against unemployment, inequality, and corruption through grassroots activism and politically engaged music. Their civic interventions contributed significantly to Wade’s electoral defeat in 2012, cementing Y’en a marre as a central actor in Senegalese civil society. The Covid-19 pandemic marked a new stage in the trajectory of this movement. Restrictions on gatherings limited its traditional forms of protest, but Y’en a marre and affiliated artists adapted by channelling their activism into public health awareness campaigns. They composed songs that promoted hygiene, mask-wearing, and social distancing, thereby making crucial information accessible to populations with varying levels of literacy. In this way, music became both a medium of resistance and an instrument of health communication. As Ndiaye and Rowley (2022) argue, Senegalese musicians collectively contributed to a form of “COVIDliteracy” through songs that addressed preventive measures, symptoms, and broader social meanings of the pandemic. Building on this scholarship, my dissertation focuses on the contributions of Y’en a marre and other Senegalese artists in order to examine how music was mobilized during the crisis. The study pursues two central lines of inquiry: first, how Y’en a marre positioned itself in relation to state power during the pandemic, shifting from an oppositional stance to a more collaborative role in public health efforts; and second, what discursive strategies were employed by these artists to transmit preventive messages and encourage civic responsibility. By engaging these questions, the research highlights the adaptability of Senegalese musicians and activists who transformed cultural practices into tools for collective resilience. This dissertation thus situates Y’en a marre within the broader landscape of Senegalese musical activism during Covid-19, illustrating how art and activism intersected with public health. More broadly, it contributes to discussions on the role of social movements in times of crisis, 6 showing how music can transcend its artistic function to become a form of civic engagement and a vehicle for social change.